tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46699586962299077022017-08-17T14:31:02.376-04:00Civics GeeksCharity that has not first learned justice is merely sentimentZachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.comBlogger797125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-42765170348860531592017-06-05T18:35:00.001-04:002017-06-06T19:22:06.509-04:00St. John of The Cross"Silence is God's first language"<br /><br />- Looking for the source<br /><br />Bishop Barron applies to the liturgy in a <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/robert-barron/silence-and-the-meaning-of-the-mass">recent article</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Merriweather, serif; font-size: 15px;">Silence, accordingly, tended to be construed as the enemy, for it would lull the people into inattention and boredom. Hardly anyone in the post-conciliar liturgical establishment appreciated that silence could be a sign of heightened, even enraptured, attention on the part of the congregation, a deeply contemplative entry into the mystery of the Mass. And what several decades of this in turn has produced, especially among the young today, is the impression that the Mass is a sort of religiously-themed jamboree, during which our fellowship is celebrated and at which lots and lots of sound is indispensable. I will confess that during many years as a priest, and now as a bishop, I have often wondered whether our hyper-stimulated congregations know exactly what they are participating in. They know that they are active, but active precisely in what?</span></blockquote><br />ExactlyZachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-41240818815270868442017-04-14T20:01:00.002-04:002017-04-14T20:01:53.309-04:00Listen&nbsp;Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , serif; font-size: 16px;">&nbsp;For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”</span>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-90908190324473613702017-02-19T12:26:00.000-05:002017-02-19T12:26:03.191-05:00Why does Congress accept perpetual wars?<div class="tr_bq"><a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-does-congress-accept-perpetual-wars/">Read Andrew Bacevich</a>&nbsp;to understand the depth of the disservice our national press/media does to our country.&nbsp;</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.75px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.3125em; padding: 0px;">This congressional irresponsibility was on display earlier this month, when Gen. John W. Nicholson, U.S. Army, traveled from his headquarters in Kabul to provide senators with a progress report on the Afghanistan War. Such briefings have become a fixture on Washington’s official calendar. By my count, Nicholson is the 12th American officer to be charged with running that war since it began in 2001. He will not be the last.<span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.75px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.3125em; padding: 0px;">In his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Nicholson came across as brisk and no-nonsense, if also stiff and humorless. Yet the proceedings in which he played a central role had the feel of a ritual that continues to be performed long after participants had lost sight of its original purpose or rationale. Like Labor Day honoring laborers. Or Christmas commemorating the birth of Christ.<span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.75px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.3125em; padding: 0px;">General Nicholson’s role was to serve as congressional enabler, allowing members of the committee to sustain the pretense that they were doing their duty. He did this by rendering a report that permitted senators to avert their eyes from anything that might require them to critically assess the war’s conduct and prospects.<br />Words were exchanged, some few actually conveying information. But all participants agreed to steer clear of anything approximating a conclusion.<span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.75px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.3125em; padding: 0px;">As if adhering to a script that had circulated in advance, senators did go through the motions of posing questions. Each in turn thanked Nicholson for his many years of service—to include four tours in Afghanistan—and asked him to pass along their warm regards to the troops. Yet each devoted his or her allotted time to sidestepping core issues.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.75px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.3125em; padding: 0px;">No one pressed Nicholson as the responsible commander to say when the Afghanistan War might actually end and on what terms. No one dared to suggest that there might be something fundamentally amiss with an armed conflict that drags on inconclusively from one decade to the next. All took care to tiptoe around anything that might imply dissatisfaction with the performance of the U.S. military. On both sides of the witness table, politeness prevailed.</blockquote>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-69117811805939503022017-01-28T16:31:00.002-05:002017-01-28T16:31:29.798-05:00This Environment<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">If you were in charge of a nature preserve and you noticed that the pregnant female mammals were trying to miscarry their pregnancies, eating poisonous plants or injuring themselves, what would you do? Would you think of it as a battle between the pregnant female and her unborn and find ways to help those pregnant animals miscarry? No, of course not. You would immediately think, “Something must be really wrong in<a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430152/abortion-roe-v-wade-unborn-children-women-feminism-march-life"> this environment</a>.” Something is creating intolerable stress, so much so that animals would rather destroy their own offspring than bring them into the world. You would strive to identify and correct whatever factors were causing this stress in the animals.</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: 20px;"><div>FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREEN</div></span>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-62557235902266373932016-12-29T12:56:00.001-05:002016-12-29T12:56:25.378-05:00On Marriage"What adventure can there be if you must always have all the odds reckoned up? &nbsp;Who wishes to sail to an unknown island with a calculator?"<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Defending-Marriage-Twelve-Arguments-Sanity/dp/1618906046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483034172&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=defending+marriage">- Anthony Esolen</a>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-28284548978784862662016-11-29T21:20:00.001-05:002016-11-29T21:20:25.239-05:00some latin<span style="color: #221f1f; font-family: &quot;Monotype Goudy W01&quot;; font-size: 17px;">&nbsp;“</span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #221f1f; font-family: &quot;Monotype Goudy W01&quot;; font-size: 17px; outline: none 0px !important;">nemo dat quod non habet</i><span style="color: #221f1f; font-family: &quot;Monotype Goudy W01&quot;; font-size: 17px;">” (no one gives what he doesn’t have).</span>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-2070014291204784702016-11-23T11:49:00.000-05:002016-11-23T11:49:39.127-05:00MiscellanyThoughtful explanation of the utility of the Electoral College&nbsp;<a href="https://mises.org/blog/lets-expand-electoral-college">here</a>.<br /><br />Read Rod Dreher on<a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/what-to-make-of-steve-bannon/"> "what to make of Steve Bannon"</a>.<br /><br />Learn about how the <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/11/22/dear-media-please-dont-normalize-alt-right/">media influences us at the Federalist.</a><br /><br />Or, check out<a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/11/22/meet-intolerant-vulgarians-dirtbag-left/"> these folks</a>.<br /><br />Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-5542251798175893822016-11-14T21:38:00.001-05:002016-11-14T21:44:14.861-05:00Questions for the Pope<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/all/today#article-full-text-of-4-cardinals-letter-to-pope-francis-with-explanatory-notes-and">These are good yes/no questions for our Pope:</a><br /><blockquote>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It is asked whether, following the affirmations of "Amoris Laetitia" (nn. 300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the Sacrament of Penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person "more uxorio" (in a marital way) without fulfilling the conditions provided for by "Familiaris Consortio" n. 84 and subsequently reaffirmed by "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia" n. 34 and "Sacramentum Caritatis" n. 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (n. 305) of the exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live "more uxorio"?<br /><br />2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the publication of the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" (cf. n. 304), does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s Encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 79, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, on the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts and that are binding without exceptions?<br /><br />3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (cf. Mt 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration, June 24, 2000)?<br /><br />4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the affirmations of "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 302) on “circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s Encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 81, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?<br /><br />5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 56, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></blockquote>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-70489603187058096972016-10-21T18:52:00.002-04:002016-10-21T18:55:21.143-04:00The 2016 Presidential Election<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">On the presidential ballet this November, there is no morally acceptable candidate.&nbsp; A vote for Hillary or Trump is a vote for a morally unacceptable leader, an assent to the decision of a nation whose capacity for moral (good) decision making is broken.&nbsp; There is a point, and we have reached it here, when participating in a “lesser of two evils” political calculation is unacceptable. &nbsp;Good people must unite, and must unite in saying that this is wrong, that </span><i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">this is</span></i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">not good enough</span></i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.&nbsp; A vote is always a compromise, but there is a point when the compromises required to vote cause us to abandon fundamental moral commitments.&nbsp; And abandoning our basic&nbsp;commitments, for whatever perceived political calculus, is anathema to any person of sound conscience, and perhaps more significantly, our democracy.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;times&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">There is present in the arguments for Trump a fatalism, an assent to the liberal view of government: &nbsp;a belief that this election and retention of the office of the presidency is all that matters, that it is our best hope for salvaging what is left of Christian culture and law.&nbsp; But this is untrue.&nbsp; The presidency is but one office in our </span><i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">republican</span></i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"> government.&nbsp; The president is not </span><i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">yet</span></i><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">our King. There are other avenues for enacting good law. &nbsp;There will be other elections, there will be other presidents.&nbsp; By abstaining from voting for the office of the president, I will be able to stand before my fellow countrymen and say with total honesty that I rejected the evil choice with which I was presented in the year 2016.&nbsp; </span></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;times&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">I encourage all fellow Christians, and men and women of good will, to do the same.</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;calibri&quot;;">&nbsp; </span></span></div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-30928428982352679902016-10-08T18:11:00.000-04:002016-10-08T18:11:05.071-04:00Trump needs to step down. Trump needs to step down.&nbsp; Get out of the race.&nbsp; Get out of politics, get out of the American public's eye, go away.&nbsp; Shame on the Republican party and shame on all Trump's supporters.&nbsp; This man is a national disgrace.&nbsp; Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-18933211617684864812016-10-07T12:45:00.002-04:002016-10-07T12:45:43.346-04:00what this election is about<blockquote>Over the past half century, the Reagan years notwithstanding, our ruling class’s changing preferences and habits have transformed public and private life in America. As John Marini shows in his essay, “Donald Trump and the American Crisis,”&nbsp;this has resulted in citizens morphing into either this class’s “stakeholders” or its subjects. And, as Publius Decius Mus argues, “America and the West” now are so firmly “on a trajectory toward something very bad” that it is no longer reasonable to hope that “all human outcomes are still possible,” by which he means restoration of the public and private practices that made the American republic. In fact, the 2016 election is sealing the United States’s transition from that republic to some kind of empire. </blockquote><blockquote>Electing either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump cannot change that trajectory. Because each candidate represents constituencies hostile to republicanism, each in its own way, these individuals are not what this election is about. <b>This election is about whether the Democratic Party, the ruling class’s enforcer, will impose its tastes more strongly and arbitrarily than ever, or whether constituencies opposed to that rule will get some ill-defined chance to strike back</b>. <i>Regardless of the election’s outcome, the republic established by America’s Founders is probably gone</i>. But since the Democratic Party’s constituencies differ radically from their opponents’, and since the character of imperial governance depends inherently on the emperor, the election’s result will make a big difference in our lives.</blockquote><a href="http://www.claremont.org/crb/basicpage/after-the-republic/">Angelo Codevilla at Claremont</a>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-84797677948129216982016-08-30T20:02:00.000-04:002016-08-30T20:03:47.852-04:00The media is still controlled by progressives<blockquote>Everyone rightly catalogues Donald Trump’s fibs, distortions, and exaggerations: his assertions about his net worth, his charitable contributions, his initial supposed opposition to the Iraq War, or his “flexible” positions on illegal immigration. After all, he is flamboyant, right-wing in his present incarnation, and supposedly bends the truth either out of crass narcissism or for petty profiteering. So the watchdog media and popular culture have no problem with ridiculing Trump as a fabricator. </blockquote><blockquote>But not so with Hillary Clinton, whose untruths far overshadow Trump’s in both import and frequency, but are so often contextualized, excused, and forgotten because of who she is and the purpose her outright lying supposedly serves.&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Lying in America has become not lying when “good” liars advance alternative narratives for noble purposes — part of our long slide into situational ethics and moral relativism. </blockquote>- <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439505/hillary-clinton-lies-progressives-look-other-way"> Victor Davis Hanson at NRO</a>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-27743661822243533532016-07-31T12:32:00.001-04:002016-07-31T12:32:15.710-04:00This is encouraging<div><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36936658?ocid=socialflow_facebook&amp;ns_mchannel=social&amp;ns_campaign=bbcnews&amp;ns_source=facebook">Muslims across France have attended Catholic Mass in a gesture of solidarity after the murder of a priest on Tuesday.</a></div>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-87157178593162635782016-07-29T15:52:00.002-04:002016-11-23T12:00:50.517-05:00Eyes to See<blockquote>Monsignor Robert Sokolowski, who taught me many years ago at Catholic University, shared an image that has long stayed in my mind. The integrated icon of Christian doctrine, he said, exploided at the time of the Reformation and the Enlightenment, and its charred and distorted fragments have landed here and there, littering the contemporary cultural environment. Accordingly, we are not going to find, at least very often, the whole Catholic thing on beautiful display, but we are indeed going to find bits and pieces of it practically everywhere, provided we have the eyes to see.</blockquote>- Bishop Robert Barron, <i>Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture</i>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-57505351276290700342016-07-06T19:05:00.000-04:002016-07-06T19:07:33.951-04:00The Rule of Law is Dead in America<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_577d8dcad65075327628182">Carly Fiorina describes the situation&nbsp;clearly:<br /><blockquote>Today, the FBI admitted that Hillary Clinton endangered the American people—and confirmed that the worst things any of us imagined about Hillary’s email server were true.&nbsp; FBI Director James Comey concluded that Clinton was “extremely careless” in handling our nation’s secrets.</blockquote><blockquote>He admitted that no reasonable person could have believed putting these emails on a private server was at all appropriate or acceptable.&nbsp; He admitted that 110 emails on the server were classified at the time they were sent—showing that Hillary not only lied, but knowingly endangered national security as Secretary of State. He admitted that Hillary deleted work-related emails before turning them over to the State Department, despite her claims otherwise.&nbsp; And most shocking, Mr. Comey even admitted that it’s likely foreign governments hacked her emails--and that our adversaries could know critical secrets about the U.S. government because of Hillary’s actions.<br /><div class="text_exposed_show"><br />But when you’re a Clinton, none of this matters. Not when you have the ear of the President, or you can call a secret airport meeting with the Attorney General. Not when you behave as if you’re above the law, and will never be held responsible for your actions.<br /><br />Mr. Comey admitted that someone caught in a similar situation would “often” be punished. And yet, he announced the FBI would not recommend criminal charges for Hillary Clinton.<br /><br />It’s not just a miscarriage of justice, but a blow to the very heart of our democracy. This is a shameful day for the rule of law and the security of our nation, no matter what your political beliefs may be.&nbsp;</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="text_exposed_show">The Obama Administration might be circling the wagons, and doing all they can to prop up their corrupt, incompetent, untrustworthy Democratic nominee—but the American people know better. <br /><br />And if our government won’t make her face consequences, voters will.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div></blockquote></div>Via FacebookZachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-68297497025135947852016-06-12T13:34:00.000-04:002016-06-22T19:53:31.638-04:00Pray for the victims in Orlando If&nbsp;you believe prayer is useless, you likely believe statements like the one above are useless as well.<br /><br />However, if you believe prayer to God is one of the only things that can actually make&nbsp;a difference in the face of such great evil, you'd probably think otherwise.Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-85369192281152328442016-05-06T11:07:00.001-04:002016-05-06T11:07:32.863-04:00A Third Party becomes a good idea when...Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the presumptive nominees for President of the United States of America.<br /><br />At this point, I would join <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/05/05/we-need-a-third-party-right-away/">a constitutionalist party</a>.&nbsp; Yes, I'm aware this new party could not win the election in the short term.&nbsp; We&nbsp;must think long term.&nbsp; The Republican party doesn't deserve to survive this election cycle.&nbsp; <br /><br />We need to reclaim local elections: the Presidency is not and should not be the only seat of political power in this country.&nbsp; The President is not our king; the President cannot solve all of our problems; the President should not solve all of our problems.<br /><br />We can't give up hope for a healthy politics.&nbsp; Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-71989397747025374542016-03-06T12:39:00.002-05:002016-03-06T12:40:15.130-05:00End of An EraSad to see you go Peyton!&nbsp; Brady wouldn't have been as great as he is without you as a competitor. <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14913587/peyton-manning-announce-retirement-monday">Via ESPN:</a><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Peyton Manning's Super Bowl 50 victory over the Carolina Panthers was indeed his last rodeo.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The five-time NFL MVP is retiring, the Denver Broncos announced Sunday. The team will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. ET Monday for Manning to discuss his stepping away from the game after 18 seasons and two Super Bowl victories.<br /><br />"When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it's easy to see how fortunate we've been to have him on our team," Broncos executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway said in a statement. "Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more -- not only for the football team but in the community. I'm very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career." </blockquote>Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-29427633451023877222016-02-13T18:38:00.002-05:002016-02-13T18:39:01.299-05:00For Antonin ScaliaGo forth, O Christian soul, from this world, in the name of God the Father Almighty, who created thee; in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who suffered for thee; in the name of the Holy Spirit, who was poured forth upon thee; in the name of the glorious and ever blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God; in the name of St. Joseph, chaste Spouse of the same Virgin; in the name of the Angels and Archangels; in the name of the Thrones and Dominations; in the name of the Principalities and Powers; in the name of the heavenly Forces, Cherubim and Seraphim; in the name of the Patriarchs and Prophets; in the name of the holy Apostles and Evangelists; in the name of the holy Martyrs and Confessors; in the name of the holy Monks and Hermits; in the name of the holy Virgins and of all the Saints of God: may they place be this day in peace, and thine abode in holy Sion. Through Christ our Lord.<br /><br />Amen.<br /><br />Sad to see&nbsp;this great man pass.Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-34731139297150354182016-02-09T20:04:00.003-05:002016-02-09T20:04:52.558-05:00It's a shameMy state is going to propel Donald Trump towards the presidency.<br /><br />Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-8891242605013622362016-02-07T13:26:00.000-05:002016-02-07T13:27:50.736-05:00The CandidatesMarco Rubio is my choice.&nbsp; I do not agree with the media's narrative&nbsp;of last night, of his supposed self-destruction.&nbsp; Everyone on that stage put their foot in their mouth at some point during those three hours - it happens, no one is perfect. Rubio clearly has some understanding of limited government, of the fundamental injustice of abortion, and speaks intelligently enough on the economy and foreign policy to compete with Hillary.&nbsp; He can handle hard questions and his answers generally do not make me squirm (a few moments from last night are the exception).<br /><br />Ted Cruz would be a good candidate, but I do not believe he passes the "likeability" test.&nbsp; Politics these days is a popularity contest - witness President Barack Obama and his two terms - and conservatives would be wise to remember that the candidate we choose has to win the general election.&nbsp; Our candidate has to attract voters who generally do not pay attention to politics or concern themselves with political things.&nbsp; I believe that Rubio has a significant advantage over Cruz in this aspect.&nbsp; <br /><br />Carly Fiorina is regrettably not electable, for whatever reason.&nbsp; The polls don't go her way.&nbsp; If she were still in contention she would probably have my vote because she is, as far as I can tell, the most competent,&nbsp;commanding and conservative&nbsp;character running for office. This is especially disappointing because as far as I can tell the media made this choice for the American people.&nbsp; Or maybe she needs a better "outreach" system or whatever. <br /><br />I am especially disappointed in the way Dr. Ben Carson has performed in the last 8 months of the campaign.&nbsp; At the outset of primary season I was encouraged by his grasp of the language of republican (lowercase&nbsp;r intentional)&nbsp;politics.&nbsp; But it has become clear, especially last night, that his ability to command a room and his grasp of the details are lacking.<br /><br />Trump is an egomaniac, entertaining at times, terrible at others, but ultimately empty.<br /><br />The rest of 'em are liberals -!&nbsp; Go Rubio!Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-78709888480320768702016-01-08T18:45:00.004-05:002016-01-08T18:45:54.692-05:00"Hell yeah I would" ... "No, look, you gotta step up, man."<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFZoVIDx5dg" width="854"></iframe><br /><br />It's like Will Ferrell is impersonating the politician Jeb Bush.&nbsp; Except it's Jeb.Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-47553816078822425342015-12-05T10:51:00.000-05:002015-12-05T10:51:19.908-05:00The word millenialI've had enoughZachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-45640142797939494712015-11-13T18:00:00.001-05:002015-11-13T18:00:28.734-05:00Disappointing I really dislike this Pete Spilakos article on First Things<br /><br />http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/11/even-if-carson-wins-we-lose<br /><br />Even if Carson "Wins", We Lose<br /><br />Such a negative approach ... no wonder conservatives lose in every way imaginable with cheerleaders like this dope. Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4669958696229907702.post-13783561778920162182015-09-05T23:27:00.001-04:002015-09-05T23:27:43.834-04:00Tolkienare not all of God's punishments also gifts?Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05397708268816821523noreply@blogger.com0